


here comes the sun

by seemeeimbeebee



Series: When They Knew [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ishval Civil War, Minor Injuries, somehow these two idiots still have time to make soft eyes at each other during the war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 17:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17770991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seemeeimbeebee/pseuds/seemeeimbeebee
Summary: "Though he had a feeling that Roy’s feelings for Riza might parallel his feelings for Gracia. He didn’t dare articulate these thoughts to Roy out loud; his friend was already so cynical about love as it was.So naturally, it all went to hell the day Riza didn’t come back to camp after a mission."--Or, when Maes Hughes figured out that Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye loved each other (maybe even before they figured it out for themselves).





	here comes the sun

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the first in a series I'm planning on doing when various characters throughout the series figure out that Roy and Riza love each other. Because, honestly, the worst kept secret in Amestris. Anyway, it felt only right that Hughes was first, and so the fic is written in his perspective. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this, and that you'll leave a comment below on which character's perspective you'd like to see me write in next. Any character in FMA/Brotherhood works, and I'll just pick them by popular demand/whatever muse strikes me first.

To say this: it was one thing to hear about Riza from Roy’s stories. It was quite another to have her around for lunches, occasionally offering a quick barb or retort in something Roy said. She was quiet, but incredibly perceptive and bright, skills that surely made her an incredible sniper. He’d heard whispers around the camp, about the rising Hawk’s Eye, but it seemed so easy to separate a killer, and the Riza he was starting to know.   
  
Not for nothing, it was more than clear to him why Roy was so fond of telling stories about Riza Hawkeye back in the academy. She reminded Roy of a simpler time, but there was nothing innocent or naive about her, not since she’d come into the desert. Yet, she still maintained an empathy that he was worried would one day ruin her. That all being said, he quite enjoyed her companionship around the campsite. Maes was starting to feel a fondness for the young woman as well.   
  
Though it paled in comparison to what he felt for Gracia. He looked forward to going home and marrying the love of his life. He hoped he could introduce Riza and Gracia, and that the two would become fast friends.    
  
Though he had a feeling that Roy’s feelings for Riza might parallel his feelings for Gracia. He didn’t dare articulate these thoughts to Roy out loud; his friend was already so cynical about love as it was.   
  
So naturally, it all went to hell the day Riza didn’t come back to camp after a mission.   
  
The patrol she’d been assigned to returned, carrying bodies. Maes didn’t need to see them to know this. The many patrols did, or at least the ones without state alchemists did. But it wasn’t even the footsteps that clued him in: it was Roy’s sharp intake of breath and the way his entire body stiffened that gave it away.    
  
Normally, Roy’s posture would relax among seeing her, but after several minutes, he still maintained that steel straightness in his spine, and it forced Hughes to pick his head up.    
  
“She didn’t come back...” Roy rasped. His hands bunched up into fists on his legs, in an attempt to hide the trembling. “She...she didn’t come back with her patrol...” He took a sharp breath in, and Hughes knew he had to defuse Roy before anyone could see him. “I made her promise before she left that she wasn’t allowed to die.” He buried his face in his hands. “Damn it, Hawkeye...damn it...where are you?”    
  
“Hey, I’ll go ask someone in her platoon,” Hughes murmured, clapping his friend on the shoulder to try and soothe him. Roy jerked his head up, his eyes blazing with a desperate hope. “She may have been asked to stay behind, or she got assigned to another patrol. I’ll go see what’s up. Don’t freak out until you have to, okay?”    
  
Roy clenched his jaw, closing his eyes with a nod. He waited until Roy took in two sharp inhaled before going to find someone in Riza’s platoon. He kept his steps light and purposeful, trying to cling to the hope that it was just a misunderstanding.   
  
That she was fine.    
  
She _ had _ to be fine...   
  
Almost bumping into a soldier he’d seen come back from the recent patrol, he saluted and got one in return. “I’m looking for Sergeant Riza Hawkeye,” Maes said in his most authoritative voice he could muster. “Has she returned with your platoon?”    
  
The soldier started and looked away. “She was hit and in an area of heavy fire,” the soldier murmured. “We...we stopped being able to hear from her. She’s assumed...to be killed in action.”   
  
Maes swallowed the lump in his throat and gently squeezed the soldier's shoulder. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I’m...I’m sure you did all you could. Get some rest now, soldier.”    
  
He walked away and closed his eyes for a moment. How was he supposed to tell Roy what happened?    
  
When he opened them again, he saw Roy looking at him, looking small as he could read Hughes’s face from that far away. He saw Roy sway and he rushed up to grab him.    
  
“I’m sorry,” he tried to reassure Roy. “I’m sorry...”   
  
“Where’s her body?” Roy rasped, trembling in his hold. “Where is she...? I need to...”   
  
“They didn’t get it. There was too much enemy fire for them to get her.” Maes almost regretted saying it out loud, seeing the look in friend’s eye. “Roy, don’t do anything stupid now. She’s gone, and going on a suicide mission to get her body back won’t help anyone.”   
  
“It’s not that,” Roy said roughly, though Maes could tell his friend was lying and it was definitely part of it. “C’mon, I need to tell you something in private.”   
  


* * *

  
“He tattooed his research...on her back?” Maes gasped in horror, feeling his stomach roll with nausea. Years of work and dedication, it must’ve taken hours for him to finish and she just had to lie there and take it...   
  
Roy nodded. “So unless we want the secrets of flame alchemy to fall in the wrong hands, we can’t just leave her out there. We have to go get her.” His voice rose in desperation. A few heads turned their way.   
  
“Keep your voice down!” Maes hissed. The heads turned away again.   
  
Roy took in a deep breath. “I’m leaving as soon as I can. I understand if you don’t want to come with me. But please don’t turn me in. I’ll explain everything if I get caught...but I just...need to bring her  _ home _ .” His voice cracked on the last word, closing his eyes again.    
  
“Now, when did I say I wasn’t going with you?” Maes asked warmly. It was good to see his friend grin, as sad as it was. “When you find her, you shouldn’t be alone. Besides...as strong as you are, you’re not going want to carry her back by yourself. You won’t make it back by sunrise otherwise.”    
  
Maes surveyed the border of the camp, frowning as he tried to see where the gaps were.“You go find out where she was stationed,” he ordered Roy. “I’m going to scope around and find us a way out.”   
  
Roy grinned, something wild and reckless before moving off, a new sense of purpose in his stride.    
  
“You’re gonna get me killed one of these days, Roy,” Maes said affectionately.    
  
It’d be worth it, though.   


* * *

  
It’d been hard to keep Roy from sprinting up the stairs of the building Riza was supposed to be positioned in.  While he understood the urgency, he also was afraid of what they’d find at the top.   
  
What if she wasn’t there at all? Then what? They were deep in enemy territory, just the two of them and miles away from base camp.    
  
“Riza!” Roy’s agonized scream cut through the building and Hughes raced up after his friend.    
  
Riza was hunched over in a corner of the rooftop, blood spattering her white hood and military uniform. Her rifle was still weakly clutched in her hand.    
  
Maes watched numbly as Roy rushed over to her and gathered her in his arms.    
  
“Riza?” Roy croaked softly, crushing his forehead to hers. “C’mon, Riza...please...please don’t be dead. You’re not allowed to be dead, please...”    
  
“‘m not.”   
  
The faintest little whisper caught Maes’s attention and he sprinted to Riza’s free side. Her eyes opened slowly and her gaze was soft and affectionate. For the first time, he was able to see the Riza from Roy’s youth, and how a father could take advantage of a young girl’s kindness and desire to help the people around her. 

Or how the military could take advantage.  
  
“Riza!” Roy gasped. “You’re alive!”    
  
“Yeah,” she whispered. “You made me promise not to die, remember?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually listen,” Roy teased her softly, brushing her bangs away from her face. “Can you stand?” he asked gently. 

Maes’s eyes widened. In all the time he’d known Roy, he’d never heard his friend talk like that.    
  
Riza shook her head, her eyes fluttering shut again. Her gaze, as brief as it had been, seemed unfocused and hazy. “Don’t tell my father, Roy,” she whimpered. “Don’t let him see me like this...he’ll get so mad again...I didn’t get away fast enough last time...”   
  
Maes’s chest clenched at the implication left hanging from her sentence, and he wished there was more that he could do for his newfound friend. But her world only seemed to center around Roy then...and vice versa. 

“I won’t let him see,” Roy promised softly. “Don’t worry, Riza. I’ll protect you.”   
  
_ I'll do everything humanly possible to protect the people I love, And in turn, they'll protect the ones they love. It seems like the least we tiny humans can do for each other. _   
  
_ So that’s how it is, huh, Roy? _ Maes thought, keeping his grin to himself as he watched Roy scoop Riza into his arms.    
  
He’d never forget how soft the look on Roy’s face was as Riza rest her head against his shoulder.    
  
_ Protecting the people you love indeed. _   


* * *

 

When they’d returned with a very much alive Riza, the higher-ups had been furious, especially given how much of an asset Roy was to the military. But then again, Riza was becoming an asset herself, and their insistence to talk to Roy was a scolding made to seem like something more dramatic.   
  
To his credit, once knowing Riza was safe in the hands of a doctor,  Roy gladly followed his superiors for questioning and did so with very little complaint or protest. In fact, almost none at all. To the casual observer, it may have seemed as if Roy was playing the penitent part, but Maes knew better.    
  
_ They’re not gonna discharge him, they need him too much _ , Maes thought confidently and it was clear that Roy thought the same thing, based on how high his head was.   
  
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Maes promised his friend as he walked by. “Just work on not getting court-martialed, all right?”    
  
“I’ll try,” Roy chuckled lowly before sauntering off.    
  
Maes made his way slowly to the nurse’s tent, just glad to take a deep breath. It was somewhat funny, watching just how quickly Roy had perked up once Riza was safe. For all Roy had bristled and grumbled at the mention of the word love, it was clear that he was in love with Riza Hawkeye.

“I’m here to see Sergeant Riza Hawkeye,” Maes said at the entrance of the medical tent. He had to admit, his rank must’ve carried a little weight, as he was brought to Riza’s side in no time at all. “How is she?” he asked the doctor by Riza’s bedside.

“She’s been battling a fever and infection from the wound,” the doctor reported, putting the chart down. “But she’ll be all right, now that she’s been given a blood transfusion. She’ll just need to rest for a few days, so that we can make sure her fever clears up.” 

He tensed briefly, waiting for the doctor to ask about Riza’s back. Before another minute passed, the doctor was urgently called away by nurses who were carrying a stretcher with another incoming patient. 

Maes stared sorrowfully after them, his eyes lingering on the young man in the stretcher, before picking up Riza’s chart and scanning it quickly to make sure that there truly was no mention of her back tattoo. When he was satisfied, he put the chart at the end of the bed.

“Roy?” a tiny whisper caught his attention.

“You’re awake.” Maes sighed in relief.

“Oh, hello, Captain Hughes,” Riza said weakly, trying to sit up and salute him.   
  
Pulling up a chair beside her, he gently grabbed her hand. “It’s Maes to my friends,” he told her, grinning down at her. She weakly grinned back and relaxed back into the bed. They sat in silence for a moment, before he leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry, the doctors haven’t written about your tattoo.”

Riza’s eyes shot open, wide and filled with horror. “How do you know about my tattoo?”

“Roy told me,” Maes said, making sure to keep his voice low enough not to be heard. “He was about to go out to get you back all alone, and I wouldn’t let him. Your secret is safe with me.”

The horror left her eyes, but then she frowned. “He was going to charge into enemy territory alone? Is he a complete moron?” she asked, and Maes let out a booming laugh in spite of himself. Riza gasped a little with shock and then she smiled too, letting out a soft chuckle. Her eyes fluttered shut again, and the warm smile stayed on her face. “Thank you, Maes. For not letting him do something so stupid.”

Something about her tone deeply struck him. The affection she held for Roy, her gratefulness for Maes for not letting Roy be alone, it all pointed to…

“He wants to become the Fuhrer someday,” Maes told her softly. “He wants to protect and save everyone.” He cast another furtive glance around, to make sure they well and truly weren’t being listened to. “Will you have his back?” 

“I’d follow him into hell if he asked me,” Riza said sleepily, not opening her eyes. “The country needs someone like that man. Someone who is protective because he cares, not because he feels like he’s claiming his right to something.”

“Did he protect you from your father?” Maes asked sadly. Riza’s jaw clenched, but her eyes didn’t open. “I’m sorry, I...it’s just something you said to him when we found you made me think...that’s all. It’s really none of my business.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Riza agreed, opening one eye, but she didn’t seem angry at him. Just unfathomably sad and reflective, which in its own way was worse. “That’s not why I followed him here, though,” she said firmly, her ferocity surprising him as she grew more passionate. “I want to help people, protect my countrymen. Because I have that power to, and I found that all on my own.”

“You do,” Maes replied.  “And no one can ever doubt that. Just...don’t forget to protect yourself. Otherwise, Roy might do something stupid again.”

“Well I can’t protect him from every stupid thing he could do, but I’ll certainly try.” Just like that, the ferocity was replaced by an immeasurable fondness and affection.

And that pretty much confirmed what Maes already knew: Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye loved each other. Whether they knew it themselves or not was for another day, when they were out of the scorching hot desert, and the wounds left behind from the war were starting to mend. Maes figured he could meddle a bit more then, perhaps when Roy was much closer to his goal, and he could throw some weight around to change the anti-fraternization laws.

But for now, Maes was more than content by making sure his friends were okay for tonight.

“Hey, you wanna hear a story about Roy streaking in the academy?” 


End file.
